Beethoven watched as the enemy began a full-scale assault and quietly sped up the tempo of his drumming.
This should urge his comrades to shoot faster.
Beethoven glanced at his fellow soldiers and was pleased to find that they hadn't noticed the quicker tempo; they were purely focused on loading, their movements quickening with the music.
Because of the urgency, Frost had issued orders a month earlier that the newly drafted National Guard soldiers would not train in formations but only shooting and loading.
Now this order was proving effective; the soldiers had developed basic muscle memory for loading such that they didn't notice Beethoven's subtle acceleration.
Due to the continuous shooting, Beethoven could scarcely see the riverside in front of him; his entire field of vision was filled with white smoke.
In such a situation, the soldiers were still able to continue shooting because reference points had been set up on the fortifications during construction.
